


‘Dreams’

by amymaria



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe, Asexual Character, Asexual Tyler Joseph, Dream Sharing, Drug Use, Dystopia, First Meetings, Fluff, Future Fic, Nonbinary Character, References to Depression, Robots, Sad Josh, the neighbourhood - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-02-01 07:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12700617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amymaria/pseuds/amymaria
Summary: No one wants to live in the real world. That’s why Josh, like anyone else who is (in)sane enough, takes his daily injection of Dreams.





	1. Lava lamp

The leather seat creaked as Josh sat down.  
He once read somewhere that the chairs were similar to what dentists had for their patients a few hundred years ago.  
He wondered what it’d be like if they still had dentists; there was no need for them now. A simple pill (like what used to be multi vitamins), once swallowed, releases chemicals in the body that fixed anything small that was physically wrong with you (i.e illnesses, acne, tooth decay) so now everyone could have a perfect smile.  
Josh can’t imagine how hard life must’ve been before the advancements in science and technology.

To be honest, life is still hard. Only in different ways. Even after all the research and new discoveries, no one had found a cure for depression. Almost all of Earth’s population suffered, including Josh. Which was why he was here now, in this room painted black with red lights shining on him eerily.  
He was here for a ‘Dream’.

‘Dreams’ was in fact a new trend that had began not even ten sun cycles ago. With it being so new, and also so controversial, the public naturally discouraged it. They found it immoral. Josh found it the best thing to have ever been invented. It was much better than any other hard drugs he’d tried in the past.

‘Dreams’ was an alternate universe you would be transported to mentally, where anyone else who were also having a ‘Dream’, would be there at the same time, though not always in the same place.

Apparently, it was impossible to feel unhappy in a Dream since it takes you to another part of your brain. It wasn’t a true cure for depression, but it was the next best thing. If Josh had the option to get away from the real world, he was going to take it.  
///  
He felt nervous. It was his first time to have a ‘Dream’ and the ‘Dream assistant’ could tell. She gave Josh a sympathetic smile before placing her hand gently on Josh’s forehead and pushing him to sit back against the seat.

“My name is Jenna and I will be assisting you today.”  
She sounded like a robot and probably was one, too. It was hard to distinguish between androids and humans in today’s society. Josh remembers learning about the war they had had since a lot of humans had started to segregate themselves when androids were first emerging as beings. The robots, well the ones who had developed emotions, rebelled yet neither side won or lost after countless battles (most believed the androids were smart enough to purposely not win). A peace treaty was made, and after all the time that had passed, robots were now generally accepted as being as much a member in society as humans. The only difference after all, was what they were made of physically.

Josh smiled at Jenna who stood over him with perfect posture, her blonde hair tied up, blue eyes sparkling. Josh couldn’t deny her beauty, even if it was artificial.  
The android then brandished a large needle containing a purple liquid with bubbles of luminous pink inside. It reminded Josh of one of those old fashioned lava lamps.

“Now Josh, this is the Dream Serum which I will inject into your arm. After ten seconds of drowsiness, you will start to lose consciousness and find yourself in another realm. The place you find yourself in depends on your own personality and cognitive functions. You can then move around and explore this place as well as travel across the realm and meet other people.  
There is nothing to be afraid of; this is designed to help you live a life full of peace and happiness.  
In your form, you ticked to be in this Dream for 2 hours. After those two hours, you will start to awaken in the real world where I will be waiting for you, as well as checking your vitals constantly.  
Any questions?” Jenna finished her speech, which Josh guessed she repeated to each of her clients.

“Is this safe?” His voice broke.

“Absolutely, Josh, there’s nothing to fear.”

Josh then felt a small sharp pain in his arm as the red lights appeared to dim, slowly leaving the room to become completely dark.


	2. Sky high

Soft. So so soft. And warm. Everything was soft and warm. Like Josh was lying on a fluffy bed, but ten times comfier.  
He could feel the suns rays blissfully beaming down on him, yet the light wasn’t harsh on his closed eyes, only soothing.

Apparently, the Dream still allowed Josh to feel curious as well as happy, since he now felt a desire to find out where exactly he was.  
Turns out, Josh was laying on a cloud. A perfect white cloud surrounded by an endless tranquil blue sky.

It was incredible. Josh felt as though he was angel that belonged in a renaissance painting.

And as he craned his neck to look around, Josh found he could make out stars and planets in out of space through the gaps in the clouds above. He made a mental note to explore space sometime.

He wasn’t alone, luckily. Josh feared being alone after spending the majority of his life isolated due to his social anxiety. Now though? He felt so calm and collected whilst looking at the other people dotted about in the clouds, as though he could talk to anyone of them without a problem.

Some were as dazed as Josh felt. Others were jumping up and down, making great leaps from one cloud to the other. Josh even saw a couple of people floating down to Earth below him.

The people must come from all over the world- the real world that is- especially the countries that have fully legalised Dreams.

There was one other person on the same cloud as Josh, a young man with dark hair and tan skin and odd tattoos covering his arms. Josh couldn’t help but notice his white t shirt was inside out due to the seams showing clearly and the black lettering faintly visible through it.

“Hey dude, your first time having a Dream?” The man smiled at Josh, walking towards him and stretching his arm out, whether to help Josh up or just shake his hand, he couldn’t be sure.

“Yeah, this is so cool! Is this your first time?”

The man pulled Josh to his feet. “Nope, I practically live here. My name’s Tyler, what’s yours?”

“Josh.” He smiled giddily. He wasn’t used to feeling this level of happiness without peaking eventually. Highs from smoking marijuana only lasted so long after all, whereas now, the high was endless.

“Eat it.” Tyler raised an eyebrow at Josh, a smirk stretched across his face.

“What?”

“The cloud. Try eating a piece; it tastes good, trust me.” His expression suddenly seemed much more innocent once the man explained his sudden command.

Oh. Josh grasped a piece of white fluff in his hand and proceed to place it in his mouth, finding that it had the consistency of candy floss yet tasted like very sweet marshmallows. “Oh. This is... wow”. Josh was at a loss for words and so decided to continue stuffing himself with handfuls of the cloud.

“Hey! If you eat anymore in this part we’re gonna go right through!” Tyler giggled, full lips revealing crooked teeth. Cute.

“I don’t know which is sweeter, you or the cloud... Oh gosh did I just say that out loud?” Josh couldn’t even feel embarrassed about what he just said, he was still too happy.

“Its cool, the first time here always has the most intense effect on you. I’m sure you’re not always this flirty in real life” Tyler continued to giggle. “If you want, we can go down to Earth and I’ll show you some cool places?”

“Sure, I’m not sure I want to leave these clouds though, I could stay up here forever,” Josh sighed blissfully, momentarily closing his eyes to fully enjoy his comfort. “Plus, I only booked two hours today and I’m not sure how long I have left.”

“That’s okay, will you be here again?”

Josh slowly opened his eyes, looking into Tyler’s brown ones and tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.  
“Of course. I’ll be here tomorrow, and probably for a longer time too.”

“Good,” Tyler grinned, then his smile faltered slightly as he looked as his watch. “You’ll be waking up any minute now, Josh.”  
Had he really been here two hours already?

“How will I find you tomorrow?” If it was possible, Josh would’ve panicked after realising that he had no way to contact Tyler.

“I’ll be here, don’t worry. I’ll know where you are.”

Josh’s vision then started to flicker and fade as he slowly slipped back into reality. He managed to say one last thing before he left. “You’re shirt says sex on it.” Which was true, it also had patterns of skulls and eyeballs printed on, barely visible through the material.


	3. Disingenuous

“How was your first Dream?” came a sweet voice, though still measurably duller than Tyler’s voice. Perhaps that was because of the Dream warping his senses, making everything seem more pleasant.

“Amazing,” Josh sighed, blinking his eyes open and trying to adjust to the dark room bathed in red light. The contrast in places was almost laughable, if only Josh didn’t have the desire to leave the real world entirely and instead live the rest of his life in a Dream. He wondered if that was possible.

“Same again tomorrow?” Jenna asked, looking at a computer screen besides Josh’s seat, soundlessly tapping away notes onto the illuminated glass.

“Can you extend my time in the Dream? I want to be there for longer.”

“Of course. The maximum time is half a sun cycle for your first few trials. How long would you like to spend there?” She looked up catching Josh in an almost hypnotic gaze. If he looked deep enough into her blue iris’, he could see tiny cogs whirring and little lights flashing ever so slightly inside her head.

“The maximum, please?”

“Alright, half a sun cycle tomorrow, and your appointment time is the same as today, nine hundred hours.” She typed away at her computer again.

They still used old fashioned terms for telling the time as it was most accurate. Josh was taught by his tutors when he was younger that they had updated ‘days’ to ‘sun cycles’ due to the different amount of sunlight they receive now. In summer, there was no nights- the sun would be high in the sky constantly. Winter was a reverse of this with no sun in the sky so it was always nighttime.

Therefore, in order to tell the beginning or end of a cycle, everyone and everything stayed inside compounds where most ceilings would hold projections of the sky which would change at a rate from back when it was more balanced. Make sense?

So in short, the world Josh lived in, was a world of disingenuousness. Even time itself was faked and controlled. Even life could now become an illusion with the invention of Dreams.

But that’s how it was; that was what society accepted. Stay inside, do your part, then find a release. Easy.

“Mr Dun? Hello? Sir? You’re free to go now.”

Josh broke out of his thoughts at the sound of his name. Jenna was bowed over him, false concern etched into her false face. Josh could believe it was real though. He did believe it was real. Why wouldn’t a robot care for him?

Josh smiled and walked out.


	4. Mundane

The corridors inside Josh’s compound were illuminated with fluorescent blue poles lining the white tiled floor. Every sun cycle, androids from the cleaning depart would scrub them down and polish them to the point where Josh’s shoes now squeaked as he walked to his room.  
The walls were also white, save for the posters lining it, displaying flashes of colour and bold text such as “5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t ‘Dream’” and “All New AI Available Now”.  
The posters weren’t like they used to be where they’d have to be stuck up; instead, someone simply had to type into the computer and have the walls itself change to show the images. The technology inside the walls meant that they would never have to be physically painted; they simply changed colour at the touch of a button.

Josh changes the colour of his bedroom walls every sun cycle, except for one wall opposite his window where he selected to have the image of a large, colourful tree cover it, with a galaxy night sky as the background. It looked as though it was created with real paints, but unfortunately, those were rare to come across.

At the moment, Josh’s three other walls were grey and he immediately went about changing it to cotton candy pink to remind himself of the texture of the Dream clouds, as well as the feeling he had had when he met Tyler.  
Josh wondered where Tyler was now, if he was still in a Dream, or if he had returned to his compound. Josh hoped Tyler lived in the same compound. Josh hoped he’d meet Tyler in the real world one day.

After getting lost yet again in his own thoughts, the man’s stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not eaten in a while, and unless he wanted to whither away, he was required to attend to his basic needs.

So with a sigh, Josh went about grabbing a packeted meal from a cupboard in the wall and microwaving it. The food was meant to be full of all the nutrients needed, whilst also tasting surprisingly good despite it being made of mostly artificial ingredients. It probably had chemicals in to enhance the taste.

Once Josh’s packeted tacos had been heated, he grabbed the tray and slumped onto his bed, legs crossed with the tray placed on top. From there he could look out of his window onto a courtyard where people and AI alike, would spend time in the summer sun.

Hours pass by until Josh’s ceiling dims and starts to twinkle with constellations, letting him knows it’s roughly nighttime, and therefore he closes his window shutters, eliminating all sun light.

There’s no TV. Josh never watched it when he lived with his parents and didn’t see the point in having one now. It bored him, and he never believed a word the news reporters said.

Instead, Josh played music from the speakers set up in his room. He owned hundreds of songs, ranging from classical piano music, to current synth beats that seemed to warp your senses. He was currently listening to the former genre: a song called Avril 14th by Aphex Twin. It was beautiful, yet was also so simple, almost mundane to listen to. But Josh found that in itself to be beautiful, and so he closed his eyes in hopes of having a real dream. Perhaps Tyler would also be apart of this one too.


	5. The Greenhouse

The second Dream that Josh entered was set in a greenhouse.

It was magnificent; a large glass dome rose above him, allowing sun light to seep through, and the place was entirely filled with tropical plants: some baring exotic leaves, colourful flowers or even fruit ripe enough to eat.

Josh couldn’t see an exit, but it didn’t bother him, he was happy in simply breathing in the humid air, filling his lungs with oxygen, and breathing out any tension he didn’t even think he could feel.

It wasn’t too hot inside, but rather comfortable for Josh to relax in in just his t shirt and shorts. The greenhouse wasn’t entirely silent either, as there seemed to be buzz of life filling the humid air.

All in all, the greenhouse made Josh feel younger, reminding him of the sun cycles he’d spend at his Aunt and Uncle’s part of the compound as a child, where they had a greenhouse extension. Inside they grew real food and sold it to those who lived nearby.

That was before they had been arrested.  
What for? Josh had never been told- had never been allowed to know. He couldn’t feel sad about it either, which was a result of the Dream.

So instead, Josh explored the greenhouse, taking in every luscious plant that he passed, until he came across a small pond in the centre.

None other than Tyler sat on a rock beside it, gazing at the white lily pads floating on the surface, his facial expression one of peace.

“Hey,” Josh said softly, hoping that he wouldn’t startle the brown haired man, yet something told Josh that Tyler already knew he was there.

“Hey,” Tyler replied just as softly, only looking up at Josh after a few moments. “Do you like the greenhouse? It isn’t one of my favourite places, not enough space for my liking, but it is beautiful.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many flowers in my entire life.” He smiled.

“Oh you should see the rose bushes just round here!” Tyler grabbed Josh’s hand excitedly, and took him along the path in a different direction than the one Josh had gone down. It lead them towards the outskirts of the greenhouse where the plants were less exotic, but were rather prettier. Along the glass panels were different rose bushes growing upwards, each one bearing different coloured flowers.

“I prefer the dark red ones with the thorns,” Tyler said.

“I like the soft pink ones,” Josh replied, eyeing the delicate flowers before him.

Tyler went forwards and snapped one of the pink ones off before handing it to Josh shyly.

“Thank you. Here, you have one too,” In turn, Josh proceeded to snap one of the dark red roses off but snagged his finger on a thorn. A drop of red, similar in colour to the rose, beaded on top before dripping down. “Oh shoot,” he muttered.

“Lemme see,” Tyler pressed his face forwards and held Josh’s hand up, scrutinising the drops of blood. Tyler’s curiosity seemed a tad strange, as though the man had never seen blood before, but Josh found he didn’t really care. He simply stuck his own finger in his mouth, sucking the blood off since there weren’t exactly any healing spray lying around. A slight metallic taste filled his mouth.

Josh then carefully inched the rest of the stem apart and gave the flower to Tyler who grinned delightedly in return. Josh decided the sight of Tyler smiling so wide, was his favourite thing to see. Which eventually lead him to wonder how Tyler was here in the same part of the Dream world, yet again.

“Um, Tyler, I don’t mean to be rude, I mean I’m really glad to see you again, but, h-how are you here? Like, how did you know I’d be here? Is that normal? Can people in the Dream find other people?”

Tyler’s smile slowly fell as Josh’s questions spilled from his mind. What if Tyler didn’t like Josh asking questions and decided to leave?

“No, I’m the only one who knows where other people are. Remember when we met last time? I told you that I practically live here, well since I’m here so much, I also know the ins and outs of the Dream world. An expert, you might call me. So when you entered the Dream, I knew where you’d be and made my way here.”

Dark brown eyes looked deep into hazel ones, and if Josh wasn’t mistaken, dark brown eyes flashed ruby red for a split second, as Tyler gave his explanation. Josh was left feeling full of even more questions but decided now was not the time. Perhaps he’d ask them in the next Dream.  
For now, he wanted to enjoy his time here with the mysterious man stood before him.


	6. Outside

Outside the sun shone high in the sky, illuminating fields upon fields of perfect green grass.  
That’s where Tyler and Josh now lay, watching the blue expanse above as the occasional miniature figure floated down from the clouds.  
After pocketing their roses (or in Josh’s case, actually tucking it behind his ear somewhat precariously) they had decided to spend the rest of their time outside and enjoy the natural surroundings.

Josh couldn’t help but feel hyper aware of the person beside him, no matter how relaxed the man felt, not one shuffle or huff of breath went unnoticed. Hopefully Tyler wouldn’t realise.

“Quit watching me dude” The grass rustled as Tyler turned his head to gaze back at Josh. He had realised.

Josh didn’t reply. Instead he continued to observe, tried to soak in every detail of Tyler’s face, his narrow nose, round lips, brown eyes, long lashes, tan skin etcetera. But what about his personality? Who was Tyler really? What was he like outside of the Dreams? Was he as depressed as Josh? Just as anxious? Did he have a job just as mundane as his? A whole life just as mundane as his?

“Okay dude that’s a lot of questions, chill. Let’s start with the basics yeah?” (Had Josh asked all that out loud?) “I’m 29 years old. Getting a little old, I know. I love energy drinks and playing Mario Kart. That game’s a classic. Your turn.” Tyler raised one eyebrow expectantly.

After clearing his throat, Josh answered, “Cool, I um, I’m 28 and I like cats and music.”

“I like music too! Do you play anything?”

For the next few hours, the two continued to talk about themselves, mainly revolving around music and games. Neither stopped smiling. Josh found his cheeks didn’t ache.

The conversations stopped at the sound of other voices.

“Look Dev! All am saying is that’s what Zach told me. Maybe it’s just a rumour I don’t know, babe.”

Walking nearby was two people holding hands. One a man covered completely in tattoos with blond hair slicked back, the other a woman with shoulder-length dark hair and a pretty face.

The two stopped at the sight of Tyler and Josh who had now sat up.

“Maybe they know something,” The woman said, coming towards the pair. “Have either of you heard of this glitch? Apparently something is wrong with the Dream, like the serum has formed a mutation or something...?” She drawled, baffling Josh with whatever she was talking about.

He shook his head, Tyler stayed quiet.

“Well whatever, it’s probably not real. I’m Dev and this is my boyfriend Jesse,” she smiled, showing perfect white teeth. “You guys Dream often?”

Josh shook his head again whilst Tyler said yes and also introducing the two of them.

“We’re almost here as much as possible. So sick, it’s like being high forever” This time Jesse spoke.

The two seemed friendly, Josh wouldn’t mind hanging out with them if it wasn’t for the fact that his vision had started to flicker. Had it already been 12 hours?

“Tyler, I’m, I think my slot it up I-“   
The Dream faded to black as Josh began to wake.


	7. Broken bones

He was bleeding.  
Or, rather, had been bleeding.  
Now his stinging fingertip was simply encased in crusty flecks of red, leaving the man to lie confused until understanding slowly came to him.  
Jenna looked at him, yet again concerned as Josh took longer to come around.

“My-my finger...? Why is it bleeding?” He croaked after not drinking or talking within the past twelve hours that he had been Dreaming. A small part in the back of Josh’s mind wondered if the staff sometimes took care of their customer’s needs, i.e gave them water when they became dehydrated in their forced unconsciousness. Maybe he’d know if Josh had actually read the fine print; perhaps there was a clause about how Dreamers were leaving themselves at their own risk of starvation/dehydration.

Despite his curiosities, Josh was more concerned as to what caused his minor injury. What if it happened again, but worse? What if Josh isn’t safe there? After all, ‘Dreams’ isn’t officially legal, and it isn’t proven to be completely safe, whether mentally or physically.

But then Josh ran through the Dream’s events and remembered the moment he had caught his finger on the rose’s thorn.  
That must be the cause of the blood.

“Jenna, if I injure myself in a Dream, will it physically affect my body in the real world?” He looked up towards her, appearing slightly dazed from having just awakened.

Jenna didn’t reply. Or at least not for a few moments. She just looked at Josh, trying to read him. Figure him out. She had opinions on the matter, Josh could tell, and whether she could trust him or not was something she must be trying to decide.  
Apparently she could.  
“Yes, if you Dream and hurt yourself, you also hurt your body due to the psychological processes your mind goes through. The same goes for real dreams, although the chances are much slimmer.  
For example, one woman once dreamt that she fell off a cliff... Doctors found her in bed with almost every bone in her dead body broken. After many tests, they discovered the link to her dream and that that was the cause of the mysterious injuries.  
It doesn’t happen to everyone, as of course, every individual’s psyche is unique. But ‘Dreams’, has a much higher chance of this happening.  
It’s not at all safe, Josh. If you do not wish to continue, then I understand.  
We don’t usually tell people of the dangers of Dreaming since it is fairly new and the company’s want for customers is apparently more important than informing you of any risks.  
But seen as you’ve asked, then you should know that, yes, you can injure yourself, even die if you suffer that fate within a Dream. Fortunately, no one has suffered that so far. But Dreams are far from perfect, we do not control the people inside a Dream, you are entirely at your own and others hands.”  
Jenna finished her spiel, her expression deadly serious as she continued to look at Josh.

That night, Josh was plagued with real dreams of terror. Nightmares of bloody roses and high cliffs, broken bones and ruby eyes.


	8. Hollowness

It’s true when they say Dreams can’t cure depression, as Josh was soon to realise.  
He didn’t even have the motivation to call his work, tell them he’s taking the day off due to sickness. It was only a music shop anyway, not like it was mega important for him to be there.  
Instead, the man lay in bed, almost comatose in his state of numbness.  
At first it had been this constant sinking feeling in his chest until it levelled out into nothing. Completely opposite to how he felt in a Dream where Josh would be full to brim with life.

He wanted Tyler. He wondered if Tyler liked cuddles. He seemed like the kind of guy who would. Tyler wasn’t here though, he couldn’t save Josh from the creeping loneliness.

Thoughts like this came and went, each one full of doubts. Every so often Josh would think back to when he was younger, when times were simpler. But reminiscing in old memories only caused the dull ache in his chest to worsen.

If only he had the ability to cry. Josh wouldn’t mind unloading everything into simple tears on his pillow so that he could rid himself of this hollowness.

Perhaps the only thing he could do was wait. It’s not like he would feel like this forever... right? He just had to live another day. Get through the nothingness until there’s something, whether that’s his next Dream appointment, or his next work shift, or the cloud above him passes of it’s own accord.

For now though, Josh decides wait.


	9. Red, pink, blue

Apparently that empty sinking feeling Josh felt, carried with him all the way to the dentist chair in Jenna’s office. The weight had only lifted just enough for the man to be able to make his way there in his numb state, one full sun cycle later.

At his entrance, Jenna smiled sweetly, only faltering slightly when realising Josh was not himself, judging by the blank expression on his face. Perhaps the robot was genuinely concerned, Josh couldn’t be sure. He didn’t really care in all honesty. Just give him his serum and leave him be. Escape from this world was currently very appealing, and seemed much more sweeter than Jenna’s smile, he dare say.

No words were spoken as Josh sat down in the chair despite the robot’s obvious uneasiness at the negatively charged atmosphere created by himself. The room felt cold and lifeless; not even the red lights could beam warmth upon the pair.   
Red lights. Red for warning. Maybe they were chosen on purpose? The staff had maybe been able to pick their office appearance and Jenna had gone with red to heed caution to the Dreamers. Red to psychologically affect the people coming in here, to have it play at the back of their minds: warning, do not use the Dream serum unless you are willing to be hooked quick time. Warning, the serum will ensnare you. Warning, Dreams are not as safe as they seem and if you die there, you die here.

But he’s overthinking the whole thing. Josh, who cares about some goddamn lights? Accept the fact that you’re no longer going to be able to survive without your fake world of happiness and move on. And where was this serum anyway? Shouldn’t it have been already injected? What was Jenna waiting for?

The cloudy numbness was already lifting in the man’s impatient, desperate want for the serum which Jenna now finally injected into Josh’s arm, after deliberating whether to give it to him. Again, no words said. The only sound was a buzzing from the multiple machines in the office. The buzzing faded as Josh slipped into happiness.

Once he awoke, he found himself stood on a sandy beach that stretched on either side for miles. Before the man was the ocean which sent calm ripples of water to lap over his feet. He soon made sure to take his socks and shoes off so he could enjoy the feel of soft sand and cool water. And to make things that much more soothing, the sun was setting in the sky. 

The sun was setting! 

Josh had only dreamed of seeing a sun set, and I guess he still is, but this felt real. So real and so vivid. The sun before him was actually lowering towards the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pale pinks and blues, causing the whole beach to soften in appearance. And Josh was astonished.

Of course, in reality, they only ever had day time or night time for an extremely prolonged amount of time; the moment in between, whether dawn or dusk, were rarely seen except if you were lucky enough to see a season change. And Josh wasn’t one of the lucky ones.

But now! He’d never seen something so serene, so ethereal.  
If only Tyler were here, this gentle moment would have been complete if he had a companion to share it with.

And for that matter, where was Tyler? Wasn’t it his thing to appear before Josh right away? Maybe he was busy, maybe he didn’t like the ocean, maybe he didn’t want to creep Josh out by always being there. Again, Josh stop overthinking!

The man didn’t feel worried, only slightly concerned since it was impossible to feel bad in a Dream. After taking a further look around and finding there were other people dotted about on the beach, his concerns vanished. Perhaps Tyler was here, but just a little further along so that Josh could not see him.

It shouldn’t matter though, Josh wanted to fully enjoy the view whether alone or not. And so without further ado, the man laid down on the silky sand and gazed up at the heavenly sky above, listening to the calming waves and for once, feeling completely and utterly blissed to the core.


	10. Flickering

Josh isn’t sure how long he kept his eyes closed for; a few minutes or a few hours; it was hard to tell how time passed in the Dream world. He also wasn’t sure on what was causing the sunlight to flicker from behind his closed eyes. It was as though a shadow was upon him, yet it couldn’t make its mind up on whether it was coming or going. Just flashes of light and dark.

The man was startled to find it was a red-eyed Tyler flickering above him.

Josh was still on the beach, that much was certain, surrounded by tranquil waves and soft sand. Yet he didn’t feel calm like before. He couldn’t feel nervous or worried either; it wasn’t possible in a Dream. So instead, Josh was left with apprehension. He was apprehensive, specifically because, what on Earth could cause a person to disappear for mili-seconds at a time, right in front of them?

“Tyler, are you okay?” Josh asked as he rose into a sitting position, eyes wide, watching the other man flashing in and out of existence.

“I don’t know, Josh.” His voice sounded high pitched with concern, and just as Tyler flickered out again, so did his voice. 

“What’s happening? Why are you flickering? And your eyes are red?”  
It was definitely the most peculiar thing Josh had ever seen.

“I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know,” Tyler looked very worried, his own eyes also wide but with more fear then curiosity, unlike Josh. Which was also peculiar, because that wasn’t supposed to happen here, you couldn’t feel negative emotions. But apparently, Tyler could.

“Hey, hey, Tyler it’s okay, take deep breaths, we’ll figure this out. Are you in any pain?” Josh’s practical side was brought out when he realised he didn’t want his friend/acquaintance, here, to get worked up. The latter shook his head; no pain. Good. “Alright how about you sit next to me and we’ll watch the sun set together? Sound good? We might be here a while, it doesn’t seem to move in the sky.” Josh managed to get a smile out of both of them, even though the whole situation, plus the fact the sun hadn’t moved an inch, was completely unnerving.

At the sight of Tyler’s crooked teeth, Josh managed to feel a bit better. And after a few moments, Tyler’s eyes faded to brown and the flickering stopped. Whilst taking in Tyler’s appearance, Josh noticed the same shirt he was wearing from the first time they met. It was still inside out.

“Tyler, why do you wear that shirt? Sorry, random question and i don’t know if it’s an appropriate time to ask,” Josh gave a half smile in apology.

“That’s okay, talking might help. I um, wear this ironically. Y’know, because it says sex on it. I don’t really like, um, sex. It’s not my thing. So I thought it’d be funny to have a tshirt with it on. ‘Cept its not really that funny.” Tyler’s face turned down, slightly embarrassed at admitting this.

“No, no, I like it, the tshirt and the idea, I like it.” Josh tried to reassure the man before him. Tyler was weird, that was for sure, and not because of what he’d admitted. There was just something he wasn’t telling Josh. Even if he’d just opened up a bit then, that doesn’t mean Josh could trust the man. Perhaps the truth would come out eventually. Josh would just have to wait.


End file.
